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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25583575">Secluded In the Canyon, Lost Within a Turn of Fate</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/backatpatrickpark/pseuds/backatpatrickpark'>backatpatrickpark</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Episode: s02e02 The Cave of Two Lovers, Holding Hands, Idiots in Love, M/M, Miscommunication, Mutual Pining, Post-Canon, Zuko and Sokka in da cave fo today, bruh moments, but only very vaguely, but with Zukka this time :)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:07:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,795</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25583575</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/backatpatrickpark/pseuds/backatpatrickpark</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Okay. So they were just two bros holding hands in the Cave of Two Lovers. No big deal. Just like it was no big deal if he gripped Zuko's hand a little tighter, or if he noticed Zuko turning red in the glow of his own flame.</p><p>(Once again stranded in the caverns, Sokka's left to wonder how bad the whole "Trust-In-Love" thing could really be.)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>268</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Secluded In the Canyon, Lost Within a Turn of Fate</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Bro... what if we kissed in the secret tunnel, and we were both boys? haha jk... unless? 👉👈<br/>Title's from "Me and Magdalena" by the Monkees (I know they're in a cave system and not a canyon but god let me have this). It's such a tender, simple love song and definitely worth a listen if you haven't heard it yet.<br/>Plot-wise it's mostly the same as the actual episode, but I thought they deserved it anyway.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><em>Meet me at the northern mouth of the Lovers’ Cave outside Omashu. Wanna show you two something.</em> </p><p>That's what Toph’s note had said. Even in the elegant handwriting of a hired scribe, the note was blunt and almost too casual. But whatever Zuko and Sokka may have been, they were never ones to deny her anything, and so they found themselves trudging along a mountain path with the noonday sun bearing down on them, eager to see whatever the earthbender had in mind. Sokka had to admit he was a little apprehensive about the whole thing, given the cave-in last time he’d gone in. But they would only be in the entrance of the cave, and Toph was a master earthbender anyway. What was the worst that could happen?</p><p>The once-grand entrance was still collapsed when they reached it, just a stack of rubbles and boulders except for a thin, arched space at the base. It was just large enough for a 13-year old girl to fit through comfortably, and maybe for Sokka and Zuko to squeeze through if they were to bend down and turn sideways. The boys shared a look, roughly translatable as <em>Is this kid a dick or what?</em> before doing just that. But when they’d shuffled through the little arch, first Sokka and then Zuko, they were greeted by an empty cavern. </p><p>“Toph? Zuko called out with some hesitancy in his voice. No response came. In the sparse light that was streaming through the entrance, Sokka could see the worry etched onto his pale brow.</p><p>Sokka cupped his hands around his mouth and bellowed, “Toph, are you in here?” Again, no response. </p><p>And then the mountain began to rumble, because of fucking course it did. Sokka's started to wonder how many worlds a guy has to save to get a little good karma. They both whipped around just in time to watch the arch crumble into rubble; the large boulder resting on top of it slid neatly into place with a crash, as if it’d been shaped for that purpose. And just like that, they were sealed in.</p><p>Sokka let out an indignant cry and rushed toward the wall where the entrance had been moments ago. “Oh, for spirits’ sake, again?”  He pounded on the wall of rocks, but all he got for his troubles was a sore fist. Behind him, a soft orange light crackled into existence.</p><p>When he turned back around, Zuko’s deeply unimpressed face was visible by the flame he cupped in his right hand. “You mean to tell me you’ve been here before?”</p><p>“Yeah, well,” Sokka smiled nervously. Had he really forgotten to mention it?  “The first cave-in actually happened when we were running from the Fire Nation on the way to Omashu.”</p><p>“Oh, and so you thought it was a good idea to come here again? Fucking unbelivable!” Zuko cried, gripping his hair. “Okay. So if you’ve been here before,” he turned back to Sokka with a hopeful smile. “You know the way out!” Sokka just grimaced in response, and the firebender visibly deflated. “You’re kidding me. How the hell are we supposed to get out of here?”</p><p>Sokka thought for a long moment. “Do you have anything that could pass for a musical instrument?” he asked brightly. Zuko just glowered at him.</p><p>“What? Now’s not the time for band practice, Sokka!”</p><p>“Right, well, I’m going to take that as a ‘No’, then.” He tilted his chin quizzically. They needed a plan, and he <em>was</em> the plan guy. “We can’t get help from the badgermoles without music, so we’ll just have to follow the original path.”</p><p>“And how are we supposed to find that?”</p><p>“Well, when Aang and Katara got stuck in here, they just said that ‘Love lit the way’.”</p><p>“Gross,” Zuko mumbled, but Sokka swore he looked a little red. He probably hated all that mushy stuff too.</p><p>“Right? Well, anyway, I figured we don’t need love, ‘cause you’ve got your jerkbending, and I’m a great navigator,” He grinned, and counted it as a success when Zuko’s lips twitched up in a tiny smile, although his eyes looked strangely downcast. “If we can just find the midpoint where the lovers in the story would meet, then we have a pretty good chance of getting to the other side.” Zuko frowns. </p><p>“And if we can’t?”</p><p>“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Sokka answered sagely before trotting away from the late exit. “Now c’mon, let’s get going.”</p><p>They wandered side by side through the winding caverns, speaking in soft murmurs to keep from disturbing the wolfbats or the badgermoles. Trying to memorize their path, Sokka walked a few steps ahead of Zuko, who would occasionally reach out tug on the other boy’s tunic, hissing at him to stay close and stop crashing into stalagmites. They carried on like this for an hour or so, until Sokka tripped in a particularly craggy stretch of cave. His foot slammed hard against a jagged stone sticking out of the ground; Sokka stumbled and pitched forward. His eyes squeezed shut on their own accord as he hurtled face-first towards the cave floor, but one of Zuko’s warm hands closed around his own and jerked him back to his feet before he made contact. With a muttered "Thanks," Sokka fell back into line beside the young firebender and waited for him to let go of his hand.</p><p>Zuko didn’t.</p><p>Okay. So they were just two bros holding hands in the Cave of Two Lovers. No big deal. Probably he was just trying to keep the two of them going so they can get out of there before nightfall. They need to stick together, and this is one way to do it. That’s all. In the spirit of camaraderie, he squeezed his friend’s hand tightly (and it’s only in the spirit of camaraderie that he was disappointed when Zuko didn’t do the same).</p><p>It’s not long before they come to the end of a hall and are met with a smooth wall with a wide, circular hole in it. Zuko pulls his hand out of his grip and rushes forward to investigate. Sokka tries not to grumble. “It’s a tomb,” the firebender whispers, sounding almost reverent as he casts an eye over the incredibly ornate room. He turns then to the crumbled stone surrounding the entrance. “It’s been opened. Recently.”</p><p>“Aang and Katara must’ve come in here looking for the exit last time,” Sokka realized. He squinted into the burial chamber. Barely visible by the light of Zuko’s flame, he could make out inscriptions on the walls. “C’mere, maybe this can help lead us to the exit.” Not waiting for an answer, he dropped into the crypt and ran a hand along the engraved wall.</p><p>Zuko raised his hand to illuminate the inscription, lips pursed in thought as Sokka narrated the story of Oma and Shu in his most theatrical voice. He guided Zuko down the wall with a hand on his shoulder until they reached the end and found themselves standing together below an enormous effigy of the two lovers, stone lips pressed together in the flickering light. </p><p>They read the largest inscription simultaneously.</p><p>“Love is brightest in the dark.”</p><p>Sokka looked over at Zuko, who was staring back at him with enormous, shining eyes. His face seemed pinker than before, but Sokka figured that he’s just a little winded from stumbling around while maintaining a flame. <em>Benders, man. </em></p><p>“Maybe if we-” Zuko pursed his lips and looked pointedly away from the other boy.</p><p>“If we what?” Sokka asked loudly. His heart felt like it was about to beat out of his chest, for some reason. </p><p>Zuko shook his head, stared down at his feet. “Forget it, it was stupid.”</p><p>That wouldn’t do. “<em>Zukooo</em>!” Sokka whined, “If you’ve got any ideas about how to get out of here, I wanna hear it!”</p><p>“No, I was just thinking, like, the legend said that, you know, love,” he mumbled the last word, rolling his wrist around anxiously. “Would light the way. And I thought maybe if whatever Spirits oversee the tunnel thought <em> we</em> were, y’know...” Zuko trailed off with a sigh, still not meeting Sokka’s eyes.  “Let me start again. I thought that maybe we could find the way out if we… kissed?”</p><p>Sokka took a moment to quietly consider Zuko’s idea. But first, he choked on his own spit and yelled, “If we <em>kissed?</em>” so loud that it echoed down the tunnel for fifteen seconds in either direction. Sokka wondered why his heart clenched when his friend flinched away.</p><p>“I told you it was stupid.” Zuko mumbled, a scowl distorting his features. <em>It’s a shame,</em> Sokka thought, <em>he’s so pretty when he isn’t angry.</em> He froze. That’s the sort of thing he usually said about girls, and Zuko was just his bro. His grumpy, sort of sweet, really good-looking bro. Nothing more.</p><p><em>Shit. Maybe it could work after all.</em> </p><p>He turned to Zuko, who’s begun to close on himself, arms folded tightly to his chest. When Sokka laid a hand on his bicep, he jerked away. Sokka tried again, speaking as softly as possible. “Hey, Zuko, I didn’t mean th-”</p><p>He was interrupted by a shout of, “I said forget it!” and watched dumbfounded as the other boy stalked off. The flame in his hand swelled dangerously, but the further away he got, the more Sokka saw it wilt.</p><p>They didn’t speak much for the next two hours, besides muttered discussions about which direction to go. Zuko stayed several paces ahead, one hand holding the flame and the other pressed tightly to his side. The only indication he wasn't trying to go solo was that every so often he glanced back to make sure the Water Tribe boy hadn't fallen behind. Sokka tried to ignore how much his silence stung, idly wondering if Toph was looking for them, if Zuko was getting tired from holding the flame for hours, why his hand felt so cold now. </p><p>His train of thought screeched to a halt as he suddenly collided hard with Zuko’s backside. Sokka braced himself for the yelling match that was no doubt about to erupt. Instead, he was greeted with a much more ominous sound: the harsh, barely-controlled breaths of a man trying desperately not to set Sokka on fire. Sokka blinked dumbly at Zuko’s back. <em>Spirits, but the guy’s on edge.</em></p><p>“Hey buddy, what’s the matter?” He watched as Zuko clenched his left hand into a tight fist. </p><p>“Sokka, we’ve already been here,” he said quietly, still facing away with his shoulders hunched miserably. His voice was almost frighteningly calm. “Those are our footprints in the dirt. We’ve been here.”</p><p>“Oh, hey, no, we haven’t come this way. This is a new path, I’m sure of it.” He spoke quickly, trying to calm his friend down. When Sokka moved to cup his cheek, though, Zuko seized his wrist in a vice grip, keeping it inches from his face. The flame in his other hand surges. Sokka swallows, tries desperately to stay calm in the face of his imminent charbroiling. “Okay,” he squeaked. “So we have been here before. All we need to do is follow the same direction our footsteps go in, and just take some different turns.” Zuko’s hand began to burn around his wrist, and his golden eyes grew wild. When Sokka stumbled back, clutching his burning wrist, the firebender lunged forward too. </p><p>“We’re not going to get out of here!” He screamed, and then he dropped his voice down into a hiss. The firelight reflected off of the tears streaming down his face. “You’ve taken us in another circle! Sokka, there’s no way out and we’re going to die here in this <em>musty fucking cave!</em>” Sokka swore he felt flecks of wetness hit his face. When had they gotten so close? He tried desperately to think of something besides the way his friend’s warm breath fanned across his face. He had to calm Zuko down.</p><p>Sokka rested both hands on his friend’s shoulders, a steadying weight to ground him. “Breathe. Just breathe.” Zuko did as he was told, and his flame receded a little more with each ragged exhale. “I’m not gonna let us waste away in here,” Sokka says then, with all the confidence he can muster. “I’m going to get us out.” His voice fell into a deep murmur as he leaned in towards Zuko. “No matter what it takes.”</p><p>Zuko’s hand was still hot from holding the flame when he sank it into Sokka’s hair, making a surprised little sound as their lips finally, <em>finally</em> met. The cavern was plunged into total darkness, and Sokka was left with nothing but the heart-stopping realization that he was <em>kissing Zuko</em>. Zuko, who smelled of jasmine tea and dying campfires, whose mouth was gasping against his own, and Spirits, who was so <em>warm</em> and so, so <em>close.</em> </p><p>Sokka pulled back for air and gazed at Zuko, who stared back at him with glistening lips and adoring blue eyes.</p><p>
  <em>Blue?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Blue. Everything is blue.</em>
</p><p>They shared another gasp as they tilted their heads towards the cave ceiling, where a winding stream of crystals sent off ripples of brilliant blue light, enough to fill the tunnel. When Sokka squinted up at it, it almost resembled the Southern Lights, a realization that made his heart twinge with homesickness. </p><p>“Agni,” Zuko breathed reverently. “Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?”</p><p>Sokka looked back down at Zuko, still cradled against his chest. The crystals cast a soft, cool glow over his face; the tear tracks on his cheeks caught the light beautifully. His eyes sparkled with awe, fixed on the glowing ceiling. He answered without hesitation. “No. Never.”</p><p>Zuko continued staring at the illuminated ceiling, flicking his eyes down the tunnel, where it twisted around a forked corner. He nudged the other boy. “Look.”<br/>
“That must lead towards the other end of the tunnel,” Sokka said, squeezing his hand with a grin.  “I guess that’s what they meant when they said that love lit the way.” This time, it was him that mumbled the “L” word. Zuko snickered.</p><p>It was much easier goings after that. They walked hand in hand again beneath the shimmering crystals, only stopping for a snack break and to share a few breathless kisses. Within minutes, they turned one last corner and were overwhelmed by the much stronger, warmer light reaching from the end of the tunnel. <em>The exit.</em> Sokka looked at Zuko, who gave a small, determined nod, and they both broke into a run.</p><p>They rushed forward, each clutching at the other to stop him from tripping as they finally stumbled out into the fresh air. Sokka squeezed his eyes shut against the glare of the setting sun. In a moment, he adjusted enough to pick out a small figure atop a rock a few yards away; he blinked, once, twice, until Toph’s knowing smirk came into focus.</p><p>“You<em> dick!</em>” Sokka shrieked. “You knew we were in there?”</p><p>“Boy, I thought you guys would never figure it out!” She said brightly, tossing a stone at Sokka’s head for good measure. “You two can be pretty stupid sometimes, you know that?”</p><p>Zuko, who had been gulping down breaths of fresh air, stared at her incredulously. “Are you fucking kidding me? How long have you been out here?” he gaped, pointing at her as if it made a difference.</p><p>“Like, five hours!” Her grin broadened, becoming absolutely wolfish  “Man, you guys really took a while, I almost had to intervene.” </p><p>“Oh, so you just wanted to see us struggle, was that it?” Sokka cried accusingly, also pointing a finger at Toph. Vaguely, he wondered how stupid they look,a pair of disgruntled teenagers pointing at a girl who can’t see them and wouldn’t care if she could.</p><p>Toph leaned back onto the rock and kicked her feet up. “Got it in one, Snoozles.” </p><p>When Sokka wheeled back around to look at Zuko, though, the frown dropped off his face. He looked his usual brooding self, all sharp lines and shaggy hair, but there was also a fondness in his expression that hadn’t been there before, something that stayed soft and warm even as the sunset faded. Sokka reeled him in and pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. He elected to ignore Toph’s faux-disgusted noises.</p><p>“I’m sorry it took me so long to realize how much I like you,” Sokka whispered.</p><p>“That’s all right,” Zuko replies, and that warm hand is back to cup Sokka’s cheek, impossibly tender. “We’ve got plenty of time to make up for it.”</p><p>And then Zuko pressed their lips together, and Sokka watched the world light up again.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yooo but if you wanna talk ab this fic or any other zukka/atla ideas, just leave a comment (!! I'm trying to get better about responding to them) or hit me up on my tumblr (@mekammin). I'm trying to write more often, and I'm always happy to talk.</p><p>Thanks for reading!!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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